Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --

USS Pawnee (1860-1884)

USS Pawnee, 1533-ton (displacement) light-draft steam
sloop of war, was built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania.
Commissioned in June 1860, she operated off Mexico in October
and November of that year, then returned to the U.S. In April
1861 Pawnee was sent to assist in the relief of Fort Sumter,
at the entrance to Charleston harbor, South Carolina, but arrived
after the fort had surrendered. On 20 April she towed the sailing
warship Cumberland
away from the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, as the facility was
falling into Confederate hands. For the rest of the spring and
into the summer Pawnee served on the Potomac River, assisting
with the defense of Washington, D.C., and participating in the
North's initial offensive operations against the river's Virginia
shore. Among her activities during this time were the occupation
of Alexandria on 24 May and engagements with Confederate artillery
batteries at Aquia Creek in late May and early June.

In late August 1861 Pawnee was part of the fleet that
landed troops to capture Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. She repeated
that kind of amphibious attack in November, when Port Royal, South
Carolina, was taken to provide a base for further operations against
the Confederacy's Atlantic seaboard. While engaging enemy forces
there she was hit several times and suffered the loss of two crewmen.

Pawnee was active in South Carolina, Georgia and northern
Florida waters for the rest of the Civil War, ultimately focusing
on the siege of Charleston, S.C. She participated in the capture
of Fernandia, Florida, in March 1862, was a participant in several
expeditions into South Carolina's coastal rivers, helped enforce
the blockade, and at times served as flagship for the South Atlantic
Blockading Squadron.

With the war at an end, in late July 1865 Pawnee was
decommissioned for repairs. She recommissioned at the beginning
of 1867 and, from April of that year until May 1869, operated
with the Brazil Squadron off eastern South America. Again decommissioned
in July 1869, her engines were removed and she was fitted for
use as a floating hospital and storeship. Pawnee returned
to commissioned service in those roles in December 1870 and was
stationed at Key West, Florida, from early 1871 until the spring
of 1875. She was then transferred to Port Royal, South Carolina,
remaining there some seven years. USS Pawnee decommissioned
for the final time in November 1882 and was sold in May 1884.

This page features, and provides links to, all the views
we have related to USS Pawnee (1860-1884).

Click on the small photograph to prompt
a larger view of the same image.

Photo #: NH 45362

USS Pawnee (1860-1884)

Off Charleston, South Carolina, circa 1864-1865.
Her bow is fitted with what appears to be a spar torpedo.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 63KB; 740 x 430 pixels

Photo #: NH 45362-A

USS Pawnee (1860-1884)

Artwork or heavily-retouched photograph, by the Photo Engraving
Company, New York, showing the ship off Charleston, South Carolina,
circa 1864-1865.
Her bow is fitted with what appears to be a spar torpedo.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 76KB; 740 x 435 pixels

Photo #: NH 90536

USS Pawnee (1860-1884)

View on deck, looking aft from the forecastle, circa 1863-1864.
An "Old Salt" is standing by the ship's 100-pounder
Parrott rifle, with the starboard battery of nine-inch Dahlgren
shell guns visible beyond.
Note awnings spread overhead, and crewmen sitting on the deck
amidships.

Courtesy of "Civil War Times Illustrated" magazine.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 116KB; 740 x 455 pixels

Photo #: NH 61926

USS Pawnee (1860-1884)

View on deck, looking forward from near the mizzen mast, while
the ship was stationed in Charleston harbor, South Carolina,
circa 1864-1865.
Guns visible include an Army Model 1841 eight-inch siege howitzer
(left foreground) and the ship's starboard battery of nine-inch
Dahlgren shell guns.
Note Sailors on deck and on watch (with telescope) on the bridge,
gratings atop hatches, coiled lines, and mechanism for hoisting
and lowering the smokestack.

Courtesy of the Library of Congress

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 135KB; 740 x 610 pixels

Photo #: NH 42867

U.S. Army 8-inch Seige Howitzer, Model of 1841

On the quarterdeck of USS Pawnee (1860-1884), while she
was off Charleston, South Carolina, circa 1864-1865.
This howitzer is probably one of two captured by Pawnee
and other ships at Legareville, S.C., on 25 December 1863. In
2003 both weapons were on display at the Washington Navy Yard,
D.C.
Note grating on deck in front of the howitzer and atop hatches,
and belaying pins around Pawnee's mizzen mast.